Global Hunger Crisis Worsens, Gaza Faces Catastrophic Famine

The Global Report on Food Crises reveals that nearly 282 million people in 59 countries experienced acute hunger in 2023, with war-torn Gaza having the highest number of people facing famine.

Nearly 282 million people in 59 countries suffered from acute hunger in 2023, with the war-torn Gaza Strip emerging as the territory with the largest number of people facing famine, according to the Global Report on Food Crises released Wednesday.

The U.N. report highlights a sharp increase in food insecurity, with 24 million more people affected compared to 2022. The number of nations with monitored food crises has also expanded.

Máximo Torero, chief economist for the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, said 705,000 people in five countries are at Phase 5, the highest level, on a scale of hunger determined by international experts. This is the highest number since the global report began in 2016 and quadruple the number that year.

Over 80% of those facing imminent famine — 577,000 people — were in Gaza, he said. South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Somalia and Mali each host many thousands also facing catastrophic hunger.

The report's future outlook projects around 1.1 million people in Gaza, where the Israel-Hamas war is now in its seventh month, and 79,000 in South Sudan are projected to be in Phase 5 and facing famine by July.

Conflict will also continue to drive food insecurity in Haiti, where gangs control large portions of the capital. Additionally, the El Nino phenomenon, which peaked in early 2024, is expected to continue impacting food security through flooding and poor rainfall in parts of east Africa and drought in southern Africa.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the report "a roll call of human failings," emphasizing that "in a world of plenty, children are starving to death." He highlighted the conflict in the Gaza Strip as holding the highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger.

According to the report, over 36 million people in 39 countries and territories are facing an acute hunger emergency, a step below the famine level in Phase 4, with more than a third in Sudan and Afghanistan. This represents an increase of a million people from 2022.

Arif Husain, the U.N. World Food Program’s chief economist, said the number of people acutely food insecure has increased every year since 2016, now more than double the numbers before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Secretary-General Guterres called for an urgent response to address the underlying causes of acute hunger and malnutrition while transforming food supply systems. He emphasized the need for adequate funding and access to tackle acute food insecurity effectively.

The report is the flagship publication of the Food Security Information Network and is based on a collaboration of 16 partners, including U.N. agencies, regional and multinational bodies, the European Union, the U.S. Agency for International Development, technical organizations and others.